Affection/Three
THREE ~ ASHPAW I think it started before we discovered that we were parted and that we needed to be recovered As I got bowled over by a cat that I had no idea was hiding where I had just wandered, I felt the wind being knocked out of me as their paws landed on my stomach. Pain shot across me: their claws were unsheathed, and now sinking into my skin, and I could see the blood welling up in the wounds that had just been formed. At the edge of my vision, I could see Cheetahpaw, staring at this cat which had pinned me down. She obviously didn't see that coming either. I felt a claw nick at my chin, and I shifted my attention back to what was in front of me. My attacker - a pale yellow she-cat - was the one who had inflicted the wound, and it stung as I met her amber gaze. For a moment, our gazes met, before she turned around and looked behind her. "I've got one, Master." I was surprised at how deep the cat's voice sounded - especially for a she-cat - and by her evidently bloodthirsty tone. At the same time, my heart seemed to race at what she'd just said. There's more of them, I thought, starting to panic. I started to fidget, which just made the yellow she-cat hold me down even harder. All I felt was pain... Then, I saw a large, majestic black tom pad out from the bush. I'd never seen him before, but he also looked terrifying: scars were scattered across his pelt, and a large one was situated on the bridge of his nose. Behind him was another cat, also heavily scarred: they were a dark brown tabby. The black tom shot his gaze in the direction of the yellow she-cat. "Let him go, Auro," he commanded with a swift flick of his jet-black tail. At once, by command of the cat, the yellow she-cat - Auro - got off me. As I was freed, I took a few breaths before slowly getting to my paws. As I unsteadily got onto them, I felt fur brush against my side, and I looked beside me to see Cheetahpaw, who was bending by my side. "You alright?" I nodded, shakily, trembling, before looking up at the three cats. The dark tabby nodded curtly as Auro returned to her and the tom, looking pleased. She then turned towards me, like he had done before her. Auro quickly followed suit. The tom had cleared his throat, and then he proceeded to speak: "You two are BurnClan cats, yes?" he asked, his voice a deep snarl. Cheetahpaw and I were too scared to do much. After a quick glance at one another, we just nodded meekly, keeping our heads down. All three cats looked pleased, especially Auro, for some reason. The black cat - obviously the one who seemed to be in charge - nodded curtly before turning back to us, and telling us four chilling words: "We are the Darkness." The Darkness? What's that? Confused and surprised, I shot a look at Cheetahpaw, who was looking back at me at the same time. Her blue eyes showed a hidden depth between them, and I soon realized that she was feeling the same way as me, as she turned back to the other cats - the Darkness cats. That was the moment when it hit me. Maybe... Cheetahpaw and I weren't as different as I first thought. Maybe... we were actually quite alike, and we hadn't realized it? In that very moment, it felt as if all the anger that I had ever felt about Cheetahpaw, all the negative feelings about her, seemed to shrivel up and vanish. "...The Darkness?" I was snapped back to attention by Cheetahpaw's mew - not bold and loud like it usually was, but... quiet and it sounded like that she was scared. "What's... that?" The black cat had started to pace around. "Thank you very much for asking that: that was the question that I wanted you to ask me." He then cleared his throat before speaking again: "It's a group of cats, may I say, that will eventually rule all the cats around the area by taking them down." The last bit seemed to chill my spine, and I felt my fur tingle slightly on edge. Suddenly, I knew why these three cats were on our territory. They wanted to take the forest as their own... and they wanted to be the only ones to have it. Suddenly, it felt as though I was doused in icy water. If all of that was true, that meant... I heard Cheetahpaw gasp in horror beside me as the black cat spoke again: "Yes... it means that we're going to take your group, BurnClan, down first." Now, I was really filled with horror. I could tell, by the stance of all three cats, that he was being serious. This was no lie - this was the truth. BurnClan was really in danger... I looked beside me again, meeting Cheetahpaw's gaze once more, and I got another glare shot back at me. Maybe we ''are more alike than I thought.'' "Don't worry." The dark brown tabby she-cat spoke for once. Her voice sounded sweet, but I knew that it - obviously - didn't reflect her true personality. "The Darkness isn't that cruel - we want to give you a warning. Surrender your Clan to us, and there will be no fight... and if you don't... it's pretty obvious." I started to shake at this. Shadestar will not surrender. "In a half-moon, Trazo -" the she-cat's tail flicked to the black tom - "and I, Garra, will return here with our forces. Your Clan must give us your verdict then. If you're not going to surrender... we'll fight, there and then." The tabby - Garra - finished with a snarl, her tail flicking fron side to side in quick motions, before she turned back to the rest of her group and started talking in hushed whispered. I was too shocked to do anything but stare when they finally left, retracing their steps to beyond BurnClan's territory. I was only awoken from my trance when Cheetahpaw came to my side, and nudged me gently with a paw. "Come on, Ashpaw," she mewed to me, her voice urgent. "We need to tell the Clan about this, I swear they're serious about this." I nodded mutely, and waited for Cheetahpaw to start to lead the way back. We would return with no prey - but we would return to the rest of BurnClan with the news of battle. sometimes it's best to listen to threats so you can test your morale and assets